This invention relates generally to improvements in devices and systems for cooling a supply of water used for drinking, cooking, etc. More specifically, this invention relates to a compact chilling system for efficiently and quietly chilling a supply of water, particularly in a bottled water dispenser station or the like.
Bottled water dispenser stations are well known in the art for containing a supply of relatively purified water in a convenient manner and location ready for substantially immediate dispensing and use. Such water dispenser stations commonly include an upwardly open reservoir adapted to receive and support a water bottle of typically three to five gallon capacity in an inverted orientation such that bottled water may flow downwardly into the dispenser reservoir. A spigot on the front of a station housing is operable at any time to dispense the water in selected amounts. Such bottled water stations are widely used to provide a clean and safe source of drinking water, especially in areas wherein the local water supply may or is suspected to contain undesired levels of contaminants.
In many bottled water dispenser stations, it is desirable to refrigerate the water within the station reservoir to a relatively low temperature to provide a highly pleasing and refreshing source of drinking water. However, refrigeration equipment for such dispenser stations has normally included conventional mechanical refrigeration apparatus which undesirably increases the overall cost, complexity, size, operational noise level, and power consumption requirements of the water dispenser station. Alternative cooling system proposals have suggested the use of relatively compact thermoelectric heat transfer cooling modules, but these proposals have generally required heat dissipation sinks of relatively large surface area and/or large and noisy cooling fans to obtain adequate transfer of thermal energy from water within the station reservoir. The use of large heat sinks and/or large cooling fans in dispenser stations of the this type has undesirably created significant size and noise problems together with undesirable increases in system operating cost. Attempts to improve heat transfer efficiency in such thermoelectric systems have included circulation of drain water as a heat transfer fluid, but such systems require inconvenient plumbing connections and further do not operate satisfactorily when drain water flow is not present.
There exists, therefore, a significant need for further improvements in thermoelectric chilling systems of the type adapted for use in bottled water dispenser stations and the like, particularly with respect to a compact and operationally efficient system which avoids the need for drain plumbing connections, large heat sinks, or large cooling fans. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.